Mock drafts and the Kansas City Chiefs: Who will they select?

The 2015 NFL Draft is drawing increasingly close and is only 2 days away. Mock drafts have sprung up everywhere as experts have provided their opinions, whether those opinions are based on in-depth knowledge or research or simply just the thought that a certain player fills a team’s need.

As a Kansas City Chiefs fan, I really only care about who the Chiefs will select this Thursday with the 18th pick in the draft. I will not pretend to be an expert and give a definitive opinion on who I think the Chiefs will select, but I did take a look at many mock drafts across the internet to see what others think. It is certainly hard to predict which position GM John Dorsey wants to target the most, much less predict which player he covets the most. As we saw last year, Dorsey adheres to the “best player available” philosophy, even if his selection of Dee Ford last year was somewhat surprising.

In a previous post here, I outlined the Chiefs biggest draft needs and indicated that I think the Chiefs should draft someone on the offensive line, preferably a tackle or center. However, a first round pick might be too high for that, especially as solid offensive linemen might be available in later rounds (and the Chiefs have 10 total selections this year). In an effort to tally up and present what others think, below is a look at what NFL experts and sportswriters across the country have to say. I browsed through approximately 30 mock drafts from various sources, including ESPN, NFL Network, CBS, USA Today, LA Times, Yahoo, Bleacher Report, and Sports Illustrated, among others and took note of who the Chiefs were predicted to select. Predictions are presented by position in order from most frequent to least:

Wide receiver: With 9 predictions, most sportswriters and/or NFL experts seem to think the Chiefs need to draft a WR, even after signing Jeremy Maclin this offseason. Many pointed out that Chiefs receivers had 0 touchdown catches in 2015 as a reason for needing to draft another WR. The most popular WR’s the Chiefs are predicted to take are Dorial Green-Beckham (Oklahoma) and Jaelen Strong (Arizona State).

Cornerback: With 8 predictions CB was the second-most popular position, and writers mentioned that the Chiefs need to address this position since CB Sean Smith will be a free agent in 2015 , and they otherwise lack solid depth in the secondary. The most popular CB predicted was Wake Forest’s Kevin Johnson, followed by Tre Waynes from Michigan State and Marcus Peters from Washington. In my opinion, I would rather see the Chiefs take a CB than a WR, especially as they can get value at WR in later rounds, but can get the best elite speed and size at CB in the first round. However, I am hoping the Chiefs do not let WR Kevin Lockett from Kansas State University slip past them in Round 2 or later.

Offensive tackle: With 5 predictions, offensive tackle was deemed an important need by other sportswriters and NFL experts. The most common prediction was Andrus Peat from Stanford. The first round might be too high for the offensive line, but Andy Reid loves to develop teams from the trenches, and it would not be surprising to see Dorsey select another lineman for Reid to groom.

Defensive line: For the fourth most common position with 4 predictions, DT Malcom Brown from Texas was a popular choice. Brown is a beast and would help make the Chiefs defense even better. I personally do not think they need to spend a first round pick on the defensive line.

Other positions that were predicted included center (Cameron Irvin from Florida State), linebacker (Bud Dupree from Kentucky and Eric Kendricks from UCLA), guard (Brandon Scherff from Iowa), and running back (Todd Gurley from Georgia). I doubt Gurley or Scherff will be available when the Chiefs select, but no matter who they draft, Chiefs Kingdom will welcome them with open arms!